Danny's Borrowed Time
by JPsmiles
Summary: WHN Borrowed Time (Season 3, episode 6)
1. Chapter 1

Danny gave Grace a good night hug and then hurriedly wiped away the moisture from his eyes before she could notice.

"Danno?"

Danny cleared his throat. "Yes, monkey?"

"Thank you for being my date." The ten year old paused before slipping her smaller hand into her father's bigger one. "And thank you for being my daddy."

That nearly did the detective in; he squeezed the little hand and managed to squeak out, "Thank you for being my saving Grace." When his little girl looked up at him with confusion in her brown eyes he smiled slightly and said, "One day I'll tell you about it."

Ten minutes later he found himself driving with shaking arms back toward headquarters…it came before his apartment and in his current state he doubted he would make it that far. His head was spinning and his heart pounding by the time he managed to stumble into Steve's office and collapse on the couch.

Steve…another partner that almost died because of him. But Steve was alive…and so was he…but it was close. Too close.

A day that started and ended so wonderfully with his daughter was muddled in between with memories of the past and horrors of the present.

He hadn't thought about that day over a decade ago in a long time; and he had never told anybody the entire story as he had done today. It had brought it all back…and it felt so real…the hurt so fresh.

His muscles ached from the tension of standing still for so long and he couldn't remember the last time he ate or drank anything substantial. But he wasn't hungry or thirsty…he was just numb. But not the kind of numb that took away the pain…the kind of numb that consumed ones whole body and made it shut down and be completely unable to function…

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

**_Please don't hate me…the chapters are going to be short because I have zero time and probably shouldn't be using it to write…lol! But this one just grabbed me…hope you bare with me!_**

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Danny was physically and mentally exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. Every time his eyes would drift shut he would go back to the warehouse.

He could smell the musty odor and it made his stomach churn.

He could see in slow motion the gun going off and the bullet slamming into Grace.

He could feel the fear mixed with rage; the helplessness as his partner died as did thousands of others when the towers went down.

And then there was the guilt. The extreme guilt they he had kept hidden inside him all this time. Why was he alive when all the others were dead?

The irony wasn't lost on Danny. His life was saved by the terrorist attack…that wasn't the way things were supposed to go down. 'It should have been me…they should have shot me.'

And he wasn't even able to go to ground zero and help with the rescue attempts in the weeks following due to the extent of his injuries. Not that he hadn't tried. But Rachel and his mother had ganged up on him and forced him to stay away. In retrospect, they were probably right. But he remembered the feeling of letting the force down and not doing his sworn duty as an officer. That hurt more than any broken ribs ever could.

As morning approached his thoughts turned back to Steve…


	3. Chapter 3

_**Again...so sorry these are short chapter! And thnaks if you reviewed...I appreciate each one even if I can't respond! :)**_

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As morning approached his thoughts turned back to Steve.

Steve had stayed and talked him through the entire nightmare.

_"Alright, Steve, get outta here, go on."_

_"Forget about it."_

_"He's right…you better go."_

_"I said forget about it."_

_"Would you do me a favor and go please…something happens I need you to take care of Grace…now go."_

_"That's your job, pal okay…you're her dad."_

If it wasn't for his partner's calming presence he surely would have crumbled and the bomb would have detonated leaving Grace without a father.

Danny's own eyes began to well up as he pictured the tears in the Navy SEAL's eyes after they had embraced. In that moment it hit him that they were more than partners and more than best friends…they were brothers.

The others would be arriving soon and he didn't want them to see him this way. He had revealed more of himself the day before than he had ever planned. And even though it was to Steve…he couldn't show any more weakness. Steve had his own problems to deal with…they all did. They didn't need his issues thrown into the mix.

His senses were on overload. There was no longer the threat of a bomb…so why did he still feel as if he were going to explode? The lump in his throat started to choke him and his chest felt so tight he quickly sat up and unbuttoned the top of his shirt…


	4. Chapter 4

**_Sorry once more for the shortness...but at least we get Steve!_**

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"Pull yourself together, Danno," he mumbled out loud. He smiled briefly realizing that he had just called himself Danno even though he accosted Steve each time he uttered the name.

The smile quickly faded as a tiny baby Grace's voice filled his mind babbling, "Danno" and how he almost didn't get to hear that sweat sound.

And just hours prior he almost broke his promise to his daughter and missed taking her to the dance…and missed seeing how she was growing up into a beautiful young lady.

He stood on shaky legs and started for the restroom to freshen up. A chill ran down his spine as he thought, 'Borrowed time…once again I'm on borrowed time.

* * *

Simultaneously, outside headquarters a chill ran down Steve's spine as he spotted Danny's Camaro in the parking lot. He was surprised to see the silver vehicle so early in the morning. He had enough trouble sleeping and was pretty much sure his partner had the same issue. In fact, he had only come in to pick up a few things before heading over to Danny's apartment to check on him.

Steve thought back to what the detective had revealed to him the prior day…


	5. Chapter 5

_**So sorry...I know it really short...don't hate me...lol!**_

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Steve thought back to what the detective had revealed to him the prior day and felt his stomach lurch.

He knew that the Jersey native was tough from the day they met; the blonde took a bullet and shortly later took a swing at his head. Danny talked a good game and could rant and rave with the best of them. But that was all a façade…deep down it was a defense mechanism to cover up some deep rooted pain. Danny had faced divorce, being uprooted to Hawaii for Grace, and his brother Matt becoming a wanted felon. And recently, on their mess of a fishing trip Danny revealed how his childhood best friend drowned trying to help rescue him from a bad undertow.

But it wasn't until they were facing that bomb that he witnessed the true strength of the man. The story of what happened on September 11, 2001 was a difficult one to hear let alone live through it. And Danny told it under the worst of circumstances. In retrospect, Steve kicked himself for going back there and not bringing up some other less traumatic topic. But he had no idea a story that started with something as wonderful as Rachel's pregnancy would end with the greatest terrorist attack on American soil.

Steve took a deep breath and walked through the doors…


	6. Chapter 6

**_Thanks for the reviews...sorry if I didn't respond...but I appreciate it! If the chapters are too short, maybe wait a few days before reading. Again...I apologize! :)_**

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Steve took a deep breath and walked through the doors. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear Danny calling his name the first time.

"Steve…Steven," Danny said a little louder as he exited the bathroom and walked down the corridor. His plan was simple…start talking first and cut Steve off at the pass.

"Oh…sorry…hey, man." Steve paused awkwardly. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here, remember?" Danny forced a smirk. "It's obvious that you're no detective."

"Danny…," Steve started.

"Look, Super-SEAL…no need for a face right now."

"I don't have a face…I just asked a question."

"You do have a face…and I answered it," Danny retorted.

"Danno…"

Danny cut his partner off again. "Aren't you going to ask me how it went?"

Steve furrowed his brow. "How what went?" It hit him seconds later. "The dance?"

"Ding, ding, ding…give the man a prize."

Steve watched his friend put on an act worthy of an academy award…but it still wasn't fooling him. Still he decided to play along. "How was the dance?…did you and Gracie have fun?"

"Fun…no."


	7. Chapter 7

_**SOOOO sorry for the delay...and thanks for the reviews! I like to answer them but as you can see I barely have time to write! This WILL be finished though...thanks for hanging in there!**_

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"Fun…no." Steve frowned as a genuine smile formed on Danny's lips. "We had a blast. You should have seen her, man…my little girl is really growing up."

Steve's face softened and he shared the smile. "Yeah...she is. She's lucky to have you man."

The color drained out of Danny's face and he reached out to the wall to keep himself upright. 'She came close to not having me...again,' he thought.

"Danny? You okay?"

"Fine," the detective cleared his throat; clearly he wasn't. "I'm fine."

"Danno..."

"First a face...and now a tone."

"I don't have a tone."

Danny pushed off the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets to hide the slight trembles. "Look...Steve...yesterday was a rough day. And...thank you for helping me through...but can we please just move on and get to work?"

Steve shook his head slightly. "I think you need to talk about it."

"Why? I'm fine...you're fine...it's over."

"Fine physically...but what about mentally?"

"Oh...this is rich." Out came the hands as he threw them up in the air. "Psycho-SEAL is going all Oprah on me."

"Danno..." Steve tried again.

Danny held up a finger to halt his partner. "First of all, it's Danny…and second, you were just as much in danger as I was…why is it_ I_ that needs to talk?"

"I'm talking about Grace…you need to talk about what happened."

"Why? I told you we had a great time last night."

"Not about Gracie…about the woman you named her after…

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**I know this is beyond short...but it was a good stopping point. More to come...slowly but surely!**

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Danny's eyes flashed and his hands balled into fists. "I dealt with…with that…a long time ago."

Steve took a step forward and his partner instinctively pulled away. "C'mon, man…talk to me."

"Oh…oh…I'm sorry…but aren't you the one always trying to get me to shut up?"

"Don't try to change the subject."

"I'm not…because the subject is closed."

Steve opened his mouth to object but closed it just as quickly and bit at his lip.

Danny sighed and rubbed a shaky hand over his face. "Look, Steve…I appreciate the concern…really I do. And I only told you about it because," Danny paused and shifted uncomfortably before continuing nervously, "because well…because I…you know."

"Yeah…I know." Neither man had to say the words to know that the other was thinking. "Me too."

"Then please…please…can we just drop it?

Steve nodded reluctantly. 'For now,' he thought.

TBC...


	9. Chapter 9

_**A wee bit more! Progress...slowly but surely!**_

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Now quickly turned into later as Steve's phone rang and they were off on a new case. The distraction was welcome to Danny, but disconcerting for Steve. The blonde was trying hard to act as if everything was as it had been a couple of days prior.

The scary thing was that he was doing a pretty good job at it.

Chin and Kona had laughed along at the crime scene as Danny described in detail and even gave a brief demo of his dancing skills the night prior. But it was when Danny thought nobody was looking that Steve could see the slump in his partner's shoulders and the pain that clouded his eyes. But it was subtle and you had to be looking for it.

As the day wore on, however, Danny began to wear down. The mask was slipping as his head starting spinning. The drive back to headquarters was a near silent one as Danny stared blindly out the window and Steve kept one eye on the road and the other on his best friend.

When they pulled into the parking lot Steve got out of the Camaro as usual but Danny didn't move. Chin and Kono pulled up beside them and soon the trio were eyeing the detective.

"What's going on, Steve?" Chin asked.

The team leader put his hands on his hips keeping his gaze trained on the man in the car. "I think yesterday is catching up with him." He left it at that; the cousins were aware of the bomb situation and it wasn't his place to go into any further.

"He looked fine earlier," Kono stated.

Steve sighed. "Yeah…well looks can be deceiving."

TBC...


	10. Chapter 10

Danny came out of his fog and saw his teammates looking at him through the side mirror. He took a deep breath before reaching for the handle and opening the door. "You three just gonna stand there gawking or are we gonna get back to work?"

Steve started forward cautiously. "Danny…you've been sitting in the car for the past ten minutes."

The detective waved his partner off. "Ah…details…let's go." He turned quickly around with the intent on heading into the building. But the motion proved too much for his already exhausted system and his vision grayed at the edges. He stumbled forward a few steps before righting himself.

"Danny!" the group exclaimed simultaneously rushing forward.

Danny blinked his eyes rapidly trying to clear the spots before him.

Chin came up beside his friend. "Hey…you okay , brah?"

"I…I'm okay."

"No…no you aren't, Danno," Steve protested from the other side.

"Am too…just lost my balance is all."

"Balance my uncle," Steve muttered under his breath."

Kono shot Steve a look before pushing both her boss and cousin aside. "Danny?"

"Yeah?" he answered breathlessly.

"There's something about out vic that doesn't quite fit…let's go inside…I want your opinion." Kono took hold of Danny's arm and started leading him inside.

Steve and Chin shared a knowing glance. Danny was headed toward a complete collapse and Kono was working her magic.

TBC...


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the delay...holiday madness in full effect!

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Once they were all inside Steve and Chin stood back a bit while Kono and Danny huddled over the computerized table. Danny was leaning heavily on it as if it was the only thing keeping him upright while Kono pulled up the relevant files.

"Danny," she said gently. "You with me?"

"Huh? Oh…yeah….what did you wanna show me?"

The truth was that the female officer didn't want to show him anything but the couch, but these things had to be done delicately when it came to the proud and stubborn Jersian. Usually the only way to get to the root of the problem would be to go in from the sides. However, judging from the sweat forming on his brow and the increasing trembles wracking his body, there wasn't going to be time for that.

Kono looked nervously to Steve and Chin who took the hint and began advancing slowly.

Danny could feel himself losing control. He felt hot and cold all at once and he was having trouble focusing. No longer aware of his surroundings he mumbled, "Stay back…bomb…there's a bomb."

Kono reached out and put a hand over one of Danny's white knuckled hands. "No…we're safe…that was yesterday."

Danny looked into her eyes with a terror stricken look. "Grace…Grace…sorry…I should have been able to protect you…I should've been the one that died…sorry…sorry.

Kono's eyes opened wide in confusion unsure where her teammate had jumped to. The tears that had begun to dampen his cheeks brought tears to her own.

Steve was all too aware of what his partner was speaking of as he and Chin now flanked him on either side. "Danny…can you hear me?" Danny began to sway slightly until a hand grabbed him from each side. "Danny?" he tried again. "Danno…it's Steve."

The blonde head turned slightly to the direction of the voice in his ear. "Steve?" he asked weakly.

"Yeah…buddy…that's right."

"Don't…don't feel good…help…help me." With that he let go of the table and began to fall…

TBC...


	12. Chapter 12

Just a small bit as I know I left you all hanging in a bad place last time...sorry!

* * *

Steve and Chin tightened their hold on Danny who was now hanging between them.

Kono pulled our her phone as they began practically dragging the ailing man over to the couch on the other side of the room. "I'm calling for an ambulance."

"No," Danny whispered. "No...no ambulance."

"Danny..." Chin started.

"We need to get you checked out," Steve finished.

"No...no ambulance."

Once Danny was horizontal Steve said gently, "You're too weak to even wave your arms around while you argue, partner."

Danny met his eyes and pleaded. "Please...can't...can't handle it."

Steve held the look while Kono questioned, "Boss?"

"We'll take care of him here," the task force leader stated giving Danny's arm a reassuing squeeze, though his gut was telling him to do the exact opposite. "Chin, can you get a blanket and Kono, some water?"

The cousins wordlessly went about their given tasks but not before shrugging their shoulders at each other in confusion; it was obvious that something was going on between the two men that they weren't privy to.

Once they were alone Steve knelt down and grabbed Danny's wrist frowning at the rapid pulse bounding under his fingers. "I don't like it," he muttered.

"Don't particularly like you holding my hand either," Danny mumbled.

Steve rolled his eyes, but was secretly glad to hear even a hint of the usual sarcasm.

Danny's eyes closed and he sighed. "Thanks, man."

"Don't thank me yet...you get any worse and you will be going in...clear?"

"Crystal."

TBC...


	13. Chapter 13

**Happy New Year!**

* * *

Danny's eyes remained shut as Chin returned with the blanket and draped it over him. He couldn't see it, but he could imagine the silent communication going on between the two men. But when he heard Kono's footsteps and still nobody was saying a word he forced his blue orbs open. But before he could get a word out, Steve was holding a glass up to his lips.

"Drink…but take it slow."

He tried to follow instructions, but as soon as the cool liquid touched his parched throat instinct took over and he began to gulp greedily. It wasn't long before his stomach rebelled and he began coughing furiously.

"Breathe…c'mon…breathe, partner…just breathe." Steve kept repeating the words hoping to sooth his friend, bit instead had the opposite effect.

As Danny got his coughing under control, the words echoed in his ears and transported him once more back in time.

_"Breathe…c'mon…breathe, partner…just breathe. Grace…c'mon…don't do this to __me…please…breathe."_

The trio could see from the faraway look that Danny wasn't with them, and when he started to mumble it was confirmed. "Grace…don't die…breathe damnit!"

"Steve?" Chin questioned, pulling the younger man aside. "What's going on?"

"Why does he keep talking about Grace that way?" Kono added .

"He's not…um well…he is…but…um," Steve stammered uncomfortably.

"What exactly happened out there yesterday?"

"You know what happened, Chin…we almost became Five-0 paste."

Kono opened her mouth and was about to probe deeper when a sob coming from the man on the couch both silenced them and left frozen in place…

TBC


End file.
